Home truth: climate change means your home may well need to adapt

Extreme heat, drought, wildfires, floods, and poor air quality – it’s not just us humans that have to deal with severe weather conditions more frequently, our homes do too. The UK has the oldest housing stock in Europe, and so it’s not surprising that the majority of buildings in this country weren’t designed and built with possible weather extremes in mind. 

According to the Met Office we’re going to be facing warmer and wetter winters, hotter and drier summers as well as more frequent and intense weather extremes. This means many buildings are or will be at risk in the future. Whilst all this sounds rather gloomy, the good news is that there’s a lot Cube can do as part of any wider home improvement project to help mitigate potential damage and make your home more resilient to the potential effects of climate change. Let’s explore some options:

Strong foundations 

It’s a good idea to check your home’s foundation once a year in case there are any signs of leaning, cracks or water damage, all of which you should identify early. Are you looking to lay down the foundations for your future home? Consult a professional piling constructor to ensure the foundations are strong, stable and durable in extreme weather conditions such as flooding.

Protect walls & floors

Silicone enhanced mineral render, magnesium oxide boards and closed cell foams help protect your walls against water damage internally, whereas water-resistant masonry protection cream creates a thick external water barrier. You should consider switching carpets for laminate, timber, tiled or concrete flooring. Similar to walls you can also use silicone enhanced mineral render or magnesium oxide boards to give floors the best possible water resistance.

Storm-proof & watertight updates

Upgrade your old windows and doors with impact-resistant replacements and consider double or triple glazing to protect your home from severe weather such as storms. 

In light of more heavy, persistent rain and potential flooding, it’s more important than ever to reflect this in the choice of fixtures around your home. Opting for materials that can get wet and then dry out with minimal damage will increase your home’s resilience to flooding. You could make a switch to inherently resilient materials such as hardwood, concrete or steel or treat existing fixtures like wooden doors and frames with a preservative to keep water out. Protect appliances from water damage by putting them on raised plinths or relocating them to the first floor. 

If you live in an area prone to flooding or sea-level rise, you should take measures to protect your property from water damage. By installing flood-resistant materials and even flood barriers for example can really help to mitigate the risks. Although it’s not a cheap exercise, repositioning electrical sockets so that they sit above the likely flood level will keep them safe from water damage. 

Beat the heat

Prevent your home from overheating with passive cooling measures such as solar shading which can be as simple as adding curtains, blinds or reflective blinds on windows. Ceiling fans are also very effective in creating air flow and helping you keep cool. Reducing the amount of glazing around your home also means less heat can be trapped in the summer months. Overall, it’s advisable to stick to heat-resistant construction materials for any home improvement project.

Keep insects out

Screens are easily installed and come with a double benefit: they protect you from insects like mosquitos that may carry diseases, while still allowing you to keep windows open at night to create natural ventilation for better sleep.

Go green for your roof

Reflective or “cool” roofing materials can help reduce heat absorption and keep your home cooler during heatwaves, reducing the need for air conditioning. Green roofs not only provide additional insulation but help alleviate potential flood risks as more water runoff is absorbed. They offer a habitat for biodiversity and counteract air pollutants too.

Green up your garden

As climate change is likely to present us with the challenge of maintaining our gardens with less water through summer months, choosing plants to suit more arid growing conditions becomes important. Drought-tolerant plants such as agapanthus, eryngium or lavender are a beautiful way to conserve water and adapt to changing precipitation patterns. On the other hand, gardens also play an important role in protecting your home from flooding, so instead of paving, putting down grass is literally your greener option. If you still require a driveway, work with permeable materials like gravel that will let water soak through and drain away easily.

Embrace energy efficiency

You can do a lot to lower your carbon footprint whilst making your home more comfortable for extreme weather events. Improving insulation, sealing air leaks and using energy-efficient appliances are just a few examples of how you can reduce your home’s energy consumption. 

Tap into renewable energy

You can become far more self-sufficient and reduce dependence on fossil fuels by installing renewable energy systems like solar panels, heat pumps or even wind turbines to generate your own clean energy. 

Insurance cover

Some policies might explicitly exclude coverage for climate change-related events, while others might provide limited coverage. Therefore, it’s important to review the small print within your insurance policies and check if they adequately cover potential climate-related damages and losses to avoid the risk of costly repairs to your home.

Final thoughts…

In an ideal world we wouldn’t have to think about these changes to our homes but sadly as climate change progresses, and what appears to be a lack of coordinated global action across governments and nations, these measures must be considered. 

Adapting your home to withstand the effects of climate change makes it more sustainable, and it could be a really prudent investment too. As these issues become more prevalent, buyers’ interest in properties that have already been adapted to new weather conditions may well be greater, as they will naturally factor in costs for renovating and converting an outdated home when putting in an offer.

Design, project management, planning permission, building with climate change in mind – all this is part of Cube’s end-to-end service. We’ll see your project through from start to completion.

Contact our award-winning team today and we’ll arrange your free initial consultation:

T: 020 8432 9676
E: space@cubelofts.co.uk